


The Fault In Our Arrows

by LesbianArsenal



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics)
Genre: Background ConnorKyle pining, Canon-Compliant, M/M, Mustaches, jansen knows what he’s doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 10:00:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20619164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianArsenal/pseuds/LesbianArsenal
Summary: Eddie and Jansen dance around each other during Connor’s run as Green Arrow; that’s it that’s the fic send tweet





	The Fault In Our Arrows

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to a very specific group of people and you know who are

Jansen was worried about Connor. After the damage to the building and learning there would be no more insurance checks, he was worried Connor couldn’t cover the costs. He had already tried once to help with income, but that hadn’t exactly gone to plan. Jansen felt lost, maybe a little like a burden, but Connor had insisted he was welcome.

“You’re  _ family _ , Master Jansen,” Connor had told him.

He supposed he couldn’t argue with the boy, or rather the man now. He had watched Connor grow at the monastery and now he was learning and growing more each day. He did feel responsible for Connor, but he hadn’t wanted to make Connor feel responsible for him. He felt naïve in this world beyond his temple, had proven he was already. 

Perhaps he should try to find a job again, perhaps something more legitimate this time. He had no idea what he was qualified for, but to help Connor, he could do it. Perhaps it was also time he started making friends outside of Connor, though he wasn’t quite sure where to begin with that either. Mia was nice enough, but she also was much younger than him, and they didn’t seem to have much in common.

“This damage is bad,” Connor said, bringing Jansen back from his inner musings.

“Will we be able to survive?” Jansen asked. His worries about finding employment came back. He would need to meditate a little longer tonight.

“I guess so, Master Jansen.” Connor sighed. He continued on, wondering aloud about how to cover the costs of repairs. 

Jansen was just thinking about what they would do when,  _ flash,  _ a great burst of light and heat; suddenly, their problems got a lot larger. A huge blast of something collided with the apartment. Jansen was knocked off his feet. Flames enveloped his sight. Drywall and glass were thrown in every direction. Jansen tried to move his head to make sure Mia and Connor had avoided the blast as well, but he was dizzy, disoriented.

Finally, the smoke cleared enough for him to see. A man had literally fallen into his apartment. Into his life. Eddie Fyers.

Connor had spoken highly of Eddie. Had seen pictures. Heard tales. Now, he was smoking, literally, in the remnants of their living room. He took out a pack of what were previously cigarettes before bemoaning their demise. Eddie’s gravelly voice rang through the apartment. Jansen could barely process the words. He could simply stare.

Even in Eddie’s disheveled state, Jansen could appreciate the man’s build. His arms were strong. His legs defined. His strong jaw. The mustache...as a man who had spent the last many years sworn to a code that didn’t allow such admiration, he allowed himself a few moments. Perhaps, a many few moments. 

Jansen heard a hissing sound. He turned, brought out of his stupor. Mia doused the flames with water from a pitcher. She gave him a tired look as she passed by him. 

“I’ll give you the short version, Connor,” Eddie said, casually lounging on the couch. 

Jansen had to admire the confidence the man exuded, even as he retold his seemingly ridiculous story. Intergalactic drug runners? Alien mothership? Would Jansen’s life ever be free from crazy events again? He supposed fate was sealed the first time he had seen Oliver Queen’s face. 

“Better make that the long version, Eddie,” Connor said, his voice a mix between his usual calm and a sort of frustration Jansen could tell he was trying to keep in check. 

Jansen listened as Eddie told his tale and could barely contain his intrigue. Designer drugs, stakeouts, abduction! This man had single handedly managed to elude his captors and fling himself into Earth’s orbit. Jansen knew he was perhaps a little caught up in the exciting story, but he couldn’t help it. The man was fascinating. He had heard Connor’s stories of their time together, but having Eddie in front of him was a new experience. 

He could admire how Eddie had sought Connor out. There was a bond there, a bond he shared with Connor too. Something about Connor reeled you in; he was good kid, a good man. If even a man so grizzled as Eddie Fyers could see it, Jansen felt pride in knowing he was part of shaping Connor. 

“I’m having a hard time dealing with this, Master Jansen.” Connor held a hand to his head.

Jansen put a hand on Connor’s shoulder. Hearing that Eddie now had super powers was surprising, but Connor had seen a lot of crazy things lately. 

“But you have been off in the company of Green Lantern and the Flash and the Justice League!”

“But this is Eddie!” Connor sighed. 

Jansen was silent for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts. “Perhaps, a man like Eddie is exactly who this would happen to.”

Connor sighed, but gave Jansen a clap on the shoulder. He walked back over to Mia, as she looked unimpressed with Eddie’s attentions. Connor asked her to help him clear up some of the debris. 

“Mind if I grab a shower?” Eddie asked, a smirk on his face. 

Jansen couldn’t help but admire how the man’s mustache twitched a little with the movement. He looked over his shoulder to see if the man was talking to Mia, but she and Connor had already left the room. Jansen stumbled for a moment. 

“Middle door on the right,” Jansen said quickly. 

“Heh, alright,” Eddie said, the smirk back on his face.

Jansen tried to busy himself with clearing some of the debris close to him. He didn’t see Eddie leave the room, but he did hear him call back that there were probably more people with powers out there, since the aliens had been selling the drugs they gave Eddie. 

Jansen heard the door to the bathroom close. He tried to still his heartbeat. He went over to speak with Connor and Mia. He tried to push the thoughts of what Eddie looked like under the tattered clothes out of his mind. Perhaps a conversation would distract him. 

He made some idle chatter about how maybe the building wasn’t the best idea, but it was clear that Mia only had one thing on her mind. 

“Just being a good neighbor, Connor.” Mia’s face was pulled into a slightly smug expression.

“Is that all?” Connor’s voice was a bit stilted, but the intention on his face said otherwise.

“Are you flirting with me, Mr. Hawke?”

Mia and Connor seemed to gravitate towards each other. Rather, Mia seemed to gravitate towards Connor. Connor merely mirroring Mia’s cues.

Jansen wished he could speak to Connor about the clear feelings he had for Kyle, but he supposed he shouldn’t meddle in the young man’s love life. He himself was only so knowledgeable about it, he wouldn’t want to rush Connor into thinking about anything he wasn’t ready to. Not for the first time, he mused at how sheltered they both had been for so long. How sheltered Connor was because of him… 

Boots stomping. Coming closer. He heard people rushing up the stairs. It brought his attention away from the awkward flirting in front of him. He went to go answer the door. It burst open in a hail of laser fire. He was thrown across the room. He could feel his head spinning from the assault. Laser fire filled his ears. Connor’s shouts. Eddie leaping from the bathroom. Eddie leaping into a laser shot.

“Get Mia out of here, Master Jansen!” Connor yelled to him. “Get everyone out of the building! On second thought, clear the block!”

Jansen ushered Mia out of the room. He looked back worriedly at Connor. “What will you do, Connor?”

“Same thing I always do. Rescue Eddie!”

Jansen sighed, but followed Mia out of the building. He felt guilty leaving the two of them to fight off the aliens alone, but he knew he had to get the rest of the residents out of the building. He and Mia knocked on doors and helped people down to the street. 

“Please Mister Cordon, the building is going to collapse!” He called through the door of 202. 

“I’m comin’ I’m comin’,” Mister Cordon called from behind the door. Jansen was given an armful of cat as the small old man rushed past him. 

204, 206, 208. The door numbers rushed past, mostly a blur. He rushed down the stairs. 

102, knock, yell. 104, knock, yell. 

The cat in his arms was fairly calm, despite his rush. He met Mia’s eyes as they knocked on the last doors. She wrinkled her eyebrows before nodding her head towards the exit.

“We got everyone,” She called, “Our turn.” She scooped the cat from his arms. 

Jansen looked behind him. He should be there with Connor. He could fight. He could help. He thought of that last lingering image of Eddie being shot. He forced himself through the door. He found Mia in the crowd.

“Let’s move along folks, nothing to see here.” The passing officer’s words boiled something within Jansen. 

“I feel I should be at Connor’s side.”

“Yeah? I think Connor should’ve gotten the hell out of there with us.” Mia shook her head. “He’s going to get himself killed.”

Jansen would have objected. He didn’t have time. 

He felt the blast before he saw it. Like the air was being sucked from around him. It was loud. The rest of the tenants were already running. Jansen could only stare. Mia tugged at his arm. 

“We have to move!” Her words seemed like they were stuck in tar. They dragged through his mind. “Move!” She pulled him. A piece of drywall and brick landed where he had been. 

“Thank you,” Jansen stuttered out. Where was his calm? Where was his center?

“Look!” Mia yelled, eyes wide, arm outstretched. Jansen followed her line of sight and watched as the Justice League landed on what was left of the building. 

“It’s the Justice League!”

“Is that Superman?”

“I think I saw The Flash!”

Jansen could hear the crowd gasping and awing at the other heroes’ arrival. He noticed the familiar green energy signature. He sighed in relief. If Kyle was here to help Connor, surely things would work out. 

“Hey, where are we going to live?” Mia asked. 

Jansen sighed. He looked at the mess in front of him. A car caught his eye, crunched with the weight of something that had fallen on it. The shape of a man? A large man. A loud crunch. Eddie, huge, shirtless, throwing another man. Jansen felt his head spin. 

“That is a good question, Mia.”

“You think insurance will cover that?”

“Fat chance, I heard we ain’t got any.”

“I don’t think my renter’s insurance covers this…”

Jansen cleared his throat. “Perhaps, if we all calm down-”

“Calm down? The Justice League is standing on what used to be my apartment!” 

“They aren’t standing on it anymore, look!”

Jansen whipped his head around. Eddie was going toe to toe with Wonder Woman. 

“Let’s go let’s go, we gotta clear the scene!” The officer from earlier was trying to corral them away. 

Jansen stayed his ground. He had to make sure Connor would be alright. 

“Jansen, they can handle it.” Mia placed her hand on Jansen’s shoulder. “Maybe we should get out of the line of fire.”

Jansen nodded. He pulled a calm from deep within him and started trying to move the crowd. He looked up and watched League members fly up to space and he heaved a great sigh. Connor’s building was nearly demolished. Jansen took a seat on the sidewalk a block away and closed his eyes. A few moments later, something furry was pushed into his arms. He opened an eye.

“Looks like you need this more than me,” Mia said with a smirk.

Jansen looked down at the fluffy cat in his arms and smiled. A few strokes of its fur and it was purring. He hoped Connor would back soon.

-

Eddie heaved a sigh and lit a cigarette. Back from space, back from the brink of death, back from being super human. 

“This fucking sucks,” He said as he took a drag off his smoke. “I hurt everywhere, places I didn’t know could hurt,  _ hurt _ .”

“It’s withdrawal, you’ll be fine in a few days, Eddie.” Connor’s tone was patient, like it always was. It never failed to impress Eddie how collected this kid could be. 

Eddie waved his hand around a little, almost dismissively. “Though quitting smoking was the hardest thing I’d have to do.”

“And how’s that going for you?” Kyle laughed. 

Eddie flipped the Green Lantern the bird. Who taught this kid to be so cocky? Kyle simply laughed and started his goodbyes with Connor. Eddie let his eyes roam the damage to the building. That was on him, mostly. If only he could find a way to charge the blasted aliens for the damage. 

He took another drag of his smoke. His eyes wandered again. Always watchful, always making sure to know where people are and what they’re doing. It was habit, more ingrained in him than the minutes between cigarettes. 

He huffed out a breath of a laugh when he caught sight of Mia. She was watching Kyle and Connor and her face had gone from indifferent, to jealous, to sudden realization quicker than Eddie could take down an assailant. 

Eddie could feel eyes on him. He always knew when someone was watching him. The monk, Jansen. Connor had spoken quite a bit about him in their time together. There was something intriguing about the other man. Eddie liked the way he carried himself, liked the way his eyes lingered, too. Maybe he wasn’t too strict about everything that came with monkhood.

“Maybe some downtime would be good,” Eddie said, a smirk growing on his face. “Cancun, for a week, on me.” He sent a wink to Jansen that turned the man a delightful shade of red. 

-

“I’m just sayin’, Cancun would be better than this dump.” Eddie flopped onto the motel bed and groaned as his back hit the mattress. Definitely better than a lot of places he slept, but he had been building up a resort hotel in his mind. 

“Well, it’s cost-effective this way. Besides, my residents need somewhere to sleep tonight,” Connor said. He and Jansen were sitting at the tiny table set up in the cramped motel room. Jansen was eyeing the cup in front of him like it had personally insulted him. Maybe it had, for all Eddie knew. 

“While you get to go sleep in some fancy Justice League dorm room, you leave us here,” Eddie joked. 

“I’m actually staying with Kyle, not the League,” Connor said. 

Eddie rose an eyebrow and made quick eye contact with Jansen. Jansen rose his eyebrow in mirror, and Eddie held in a chuckle.

“Of course, what a good friend Kyle is.”

“…yes, he is.” Connor’s tone was confused, and Eddie could have just told him then and there, but it was a little amusing to watch them dance around it. Connor seemed to drop it as he got up. “You two are alright sharing a room? They didn’t have enough vacancies for everyone to get their own, I’m sorry again.”

Eddie couldn’t hold back a smirk as Jansen suddenly inspected the cup of tea in front of him like it was the most interesting thing in the world. 

“I think we’ll work it out, as men do.”

Connor looked baffled and Eddie took a moment to feel bad for Kyle. Just one moment though.

“Well, alright. I’ll be back in the morning to make a plan about the building. Good night Eddie, Master Jansen.” He turned to leave the room and when the door clicked closed behind him, the air in the room felt suddenly warmer. 

Eddie knew enough about himself to know the heat wasn’t coming from Connor’s absence. He’d spent weeks trapped on an alien ship, and there hadn’t been a lot of time for relaxing. He closed his eyes and settled further into the bed. He let his mind wander a little, the adrenaline from the day worn off by now, his body aching from the fight and the withdrawal, he felt tired in a way he hadn’t in a long time. 

“If you would like, um…”

Eddie cracked an eye open to see Jansen standing next to the bed.

“I will be meditating, if you would like to join me. I find it helpful after such….interesting events.”

“Not exactly the kind of stress relief I had in mind, but why the hell not.” Eddie pried himself off the old mattress and onto the floor. He settled next to Jansen, folding his legs. Jansen looked almost shocked that he had accepted. Hell, Eddie was a little shocked himself. Meditation? That had never been on his list of ways to spend his time, but neither had being abducted by aliens and going toe to toe with Wonder Woman, so maybe a change of pace was good for an old man every now and again. 

“What do you usually think about when you do this, meditation thing?” Eddie asked. He flicked open his lighter and stuck a smoke between his lips. Jansen plucked the cigarette from Eddie’s lips and he could have sworn the other man’s fingers lingered a little longer than necessary. 

“The sign says no smoking,” Jansen chided, pointing to the small plaque on the door. 

“Rules never stopped me from anything before.”

“The rule is not stopping you, I am,” Jansen said.

Eddie nodded. “Well then, who am I to deny a man his wants?”

Jansen looked as though he wanted to say something, but his face quickly changed. Eddie couldn’t help but notice the deep brown eyes quick flick down and back up before Jansen turned away from him.

“I do not think of specific things, but the possibilities of all things,” Jansen said. He straightened his back and took a deep breath. “It is about pulling from your core knowledge of your own self.”

“Sounds like a lot of stuff I don’t want to do.”

“You can think of whatever you like, Eddie, I am simply answering your question.”

Eddie grunted his acknowledgement. He watched as Jansen closed his eyes and began to breath more deeply. He wondered how long Jansen had spent meditating in his life. How many hours had he spent sitting still and calm? Eddie had spent a long time sitting in stakeouts or waiting for drops, but there was always something at the end, something to look forward to, something to plan for. This? This was out of his wheelhouse.

He closed his eyes and resigned himself to sitting in silence for a while. He tried to ‘find his center’ or whatever, but the only thing he found was some shame, bad memories, and strong craving for nicotine. He opened his eyes back up and watched Jansen. Watched as his breathing deepened, watched the rise and fall of his shoulders, watched the peaceful expression on his face. d

If he was a better man, he wouldn’t have thought about disturbing the monk in his meditation, but as he wasn’t, he humored the idea of trying to get him to open his eyes. Because he wasn’t a terrible man, he got up to go out to smoke instead. He breathed in the smoke deeply. Knew it would kill him one day, but if the cancer got him before a bullet, he’d be okay with that. 

He heard the door open and nodded his head as Jansen sat on the curb next to him.

“Done meditating already?” Eddie flicked some ash off his cigarette. “Finding inner peace must come quick to you.”

Jansen sighed. The sound made Eddie turn. Even in the terrible light of the motel parking lot, he could see the age lines on Jansen’s face, the worry etched into his features. His fingers twitched to touch them, but he thought better. Even if the other man was obvious with his attraction, who knows what rules he was breaking. 

“The opposite, actually.” Jansen looked up to the night sky, or, what could be seen of it in the middle of the city. Eddie followed the curve of his jaw to his collarbone to his pronounced shoulders with his eyes. “I feel like it comes slower by the day outside of the monastery.”

“You miss it?” Eddie flicked the butt to the ground and fished another from the pack.

“Deeply.” The ache was clear in his tone. “But do not tell Connor.”

Eddie chuckled. “Kid wants to fix the world.”

“I believe he could, that he will.” Jansen sighed again. He brought his knees upright and placed his elbows on them, burying his face in his hands. “That’s what I’m worried about. I know he’s capable, but-”

“You’re worried,” Eddie finished. “Yeah, me too.”

Jansen turned his face away from his hands. “Yes, but at least you’re able to help him. I feel like nothing but a burden since I’ve come to live with him. I feel somehow younger than I ever have, and I fear that my naivete is also Connor’s.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” The comforting words seemed to slip out of Eddie’s mouth before he could think.

“It is that bad, Eddie.” Jansen dropped his hands completely and laughed. It was a nice laugh. “I fell into a loan shark scam without knowing it. I believed in the lies they told me about doing good. I didn’t stop to question the motives, I was so desperate to help Connor with money.”

Eddie scrunched his eyebrows. “Everybody makes, uh, mistakes.”

Jansen raised an eyebrow. “You are new to comforting people, and it shows.”

“Hey, I’m trying to be nice here.”

Jansen laughed again. “Well, then thank you for your understanding, but I’m not the one I’m worried about. Connor sees the good in people, always the good. In his father, in you, in me. I just…” He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. “I worry for what happens when he stops.”

“Ah, kid won’t stop. He’s got the best heart I’ve ever seen. Makes me furious, makes it impossible to work with sometimes, but at the end of the day, that’s what people need from heroes.” 

They let the words sit between them. Jansen looked puzzled, and Eddie was trying to think of something to change the mood. He wasn’t one to believe in heroes, but he believed in Connor, like he had believed in his dad. No, more than he had believed in Ollie even. That didn’t mean it made it any less uncomfortable to talk about.

“I’m glad he had you to look out for him.” Jansen’s voice was low, soft. 

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I’ll write the rest one day who knows


End file.
